The Gary Post-Tribune reports today that Indiana voters will be presented with three proposed constitutional amendments on the Nov. 2 ballot. Here is the Trib's summary:
Question 1: TaxesNote: In a separate entry before the election, I will point to some concerns about the proposed succession amendment. Posted by Marcia Oddi at October 11, 2004 07:25 AMThe one question that may draw the most attention is the proposed tax amendment that will enable lawmakers to provide property tax exemptions to homeowners, owners of property used to produce income, and inventory.
Though the question sounds harmless enough — and possibly beneficial to taxpayers — the Indiana Farm Bureau has come out against the change. Superficially, it sounds good, said Lew Middleton, Farm Bureau spokesman. But the law may stack the deck against farmers, Middleton said. The Farm Bureau’s Web site says since “farmland would not qualify for any of the newly authorized relief, it would have to bear greater property taxes to pay for the relief authorized by the amendment.”
But that is disputed by State Rep. Ralph Ayres, R-Chesterton, who said the amendment would remove constitutional barriers to providing inventory tax relief to businesses, manufacturers and farmers. He said the bill [joint resolution] was passed by two consecutively elected legislatures with broad support.
Question 2: Term starts
An odd thing about the Indiana Constitution is that it mandates several offices, from county clerk to county recorder. It even mandates four-year terms, and, for some, term limits. But it doesn’t say when the terms should begin.
Since the mid-1800s, a total of 78 county officeholders throughout the state have had to wait 14 months between being elected and taking the oath and assuming duties, according to David Bottorff, legislative director for the Association of Indiana Counties.
Porter County Clerk Dale Brewer is one of the victims of the quirky laws. She was elected to the office in 1998, but couldn’t take office until Jan. 1, 2000, because of a mysterious one-year lag that the various laws require for those 78 local officials. Bottorff said if voters approve of the amendment, there will be less confusion about the electoral process.
Ayres said there may have been good reasons for the laws when new counties formed in the 1800s. But Ayres said the terms should start the following January to be uniform, and to allow voters to elect people who assume office as soon as possible.
Question 3: Succession
The third question has to do with succession of governors in case of emergency. The issue arose after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, not the late Gov. Frank O’Bannon’s death, Ayres said.
The amendment would clarify when and who would take the governor’s office if a major attack or natural event took the lives of both governor and lieutenant governor, or if both officeholders resigned. The amendment would clarify how Indiana maintains a governing body while making a transition, Ayres said.